China's Tianwen 2 probe has captured striking pictures of home as it heads out to a near-Earth asteroid to collect samples.

But they may help explain how Earth became a planet with vast oceans. Tianwen-2 is more than just a scientific sleuth. It is also a technological steppingstone for China’s ambitious Tianwen-3 ...

Launching in 2028, China’s Tianwen-3 Mars sample return mission could bring Red Planet rocks back to Earth as early as 2031—years ahead of competing U.S.-European efforts ...